Coleman's Big Second Half Helps NJIT Hold Off Maine in America East Opener
Miles Coleman scored 15 points after halftime on Sunday to help the NJIT men's basketball team come from behind to defeat Maine in both team's America East Conference openers at the Wellness and Events Center.
Coleman finished with a game-high 23 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season as NJIT improved to 6-5 overall. The senior forward was one of five Highlanders to score at least nine points in the victory over Maine (3-9).
"It was our first game in three weeks and we weren't as sharp offensively," said sixth-year Head Coach Brian Kennedy. "Our defense held up though and our grit and resilience helped us pull it out."
The teams traded the lead several times in the first half before a late 8-0 run from Maine gave them a 33-29 lead as the teams entered the locker room for halftime.
The Black Bears extended the lead to a game-high seven points with just under 12 minutes to play before Coleman took the game over.
Coleman, a West Palm Beach native, made a driving layup with 6:54 on the clock that put NJIT in front for the first time since late in the first half and the Highlanders never trailed again.
"When someone gets a hot hand, you want to keep going back to him, and we were able to do that with Miles in the second half," added Kennedy.
Maine was able to make things interesting down the stretch, but missed a three-point attempt at the buzzer that would've sent the game to overtime.
Coleman was joined in double figures by Matt Faw (11 points) and James Lee (10 points), while Antwuan Butler and Dylan O'Hearn each chipped in with nine points.
Faw narrowly missed a double-double of his own, pulling down eight rebounds while also blocking a pair of shots. The graduate transfer was 2-of-3 from three-point range as the Highlanders shot 41.7% (5-of-12) from deep in the win.
The Highlanders are scheduled to be back in action on Thursday when they travel to UMass Lowell for another America East matchup. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m.